NAIROBI, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Thursday launched a tax filing campaign as it projects 40 percent growth on tax returns this year with more than four million taxpayers expected to submit their returns through online platform iTax by June.

Elizabeth Meyo, KRA's commissioner for domestic taxes department said they have rolled out a public campaign dubbed Tujijenge, or "Let's build ourselves," on digital, radio and print media platforms to raise public awareness on the crucial tax returns program.

"Through our collective tax contributions, the government has been able to successfully ensure development of infrastructure and other projects across the country," Meyo said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

"This year the tax filing season is also opened for tax defaulters to pay their 2018 dues by end of April 2019," she added.

The campaign seeks to encourage taxpayers to comply with their tax obligations by filing their 2018 income tax returns by end of June, and corporates and business owners by end of April.

KRA's tax collection pace has remained well above the country's economic growth rate.

Over the years, revenue collection has grown from 122 billion shillings (about 1.22 billion U.S. dollars) in 1995/1996 fiscal year to 1.43 billion dollars in 2017/18 fiscal year.

In 2019, KRA targets to have more than 4 million taxpayers file their 2018 income tax returns, said Meyo.

In 2018, 3.2 million taxpayers filed their returns on the iTax platform for both resident and non-resident categories.